WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Green Arrow #37, by Benjamin Percy and Juan Ferreya, on sale now.
If there's a defining factor in the Green Arrow mythology, it's that an archer always falls in love with a bird, eventually. Oliver Queen fell for Dinah Lance, the Black Canary, and his Rebirth book began with the two of them meeting for the first time. The book has dealt with the relationship between the two, but with Benjamin Percy and Juan Ferreya's Green Arrow #37, a new Arrow/Bird romance is developing: the romance of Red Arrow, Oliver's half-sister Emiko Queen, and current Robin, Damian Wayne.
Yes, you read that right. Damian is well and truly smitten.
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First, let's track back to the beginning, with Teen Titans #13, which also happens to share Percy as a writer. Following the Gotham Resistance tie-in event of Dark Nights: Metal, Damian was looking to replace the vacancy left from Kid Flash's firing. During the chaos in Gotham, Oliver and Damian managed to bond, and the Emerald Archer mentioned bringing Emiko on as a member of the Titans. Damian traveled to Star City to test her worthiness for the Titans, but Emiko made it clear from the start that she didn't want to be on his team. She liked his giant pet beast, Goliath, of course, but she was certain the young Boy Wonder was "an absolute nightmare."
Damian and Emi later fought together against the villainous Onomatopoeia, and he went into something of a berserker rage when she got shot in the arm. Once the battle settled down and Robin apologized to Kid Flash, Emi departed, but not before giving Damian a kiss on the cheek and a wink. Despite that, though, she insists that she's still too cool to be a member. Having turned recently 13 and going through the throes of puberty, it's clear that Damian's got a bit of a crush on the Crimson Archer, if his blush wasn't already a clear indicator of that.
The two of them haven't really had a chance to hang out much since then; Damian got caught up in some time travel business, while Emi's had to prove her big brother's innocence, so that's to be expected. More traumatically for Emi, she took an arrow to the chest, a blow fired by Moira Queen that was meant for her brother, and looked to be in critical condition. Thankfully, she managed to survive and spent the last pages of the book recuperating. And who came to see her but none other than the Boy Wonder with a smile on his face.
It's unknown if this thread will continue in next month's Green Arrow #38, since that book will be focused on Oliver's trial, but there's little doubt that it will develop in the weeks and months ahead. There's definitely something there brewing between the two of them--and both of them appear to feel the same way. They're both inheriting a big mantle in their respective families, and they aren't really afraid to take what they want by force, if necessary. Should any relationship blossom between them, though, it's going to take some time--he's going to be spending some time with the Justice League in a few months, after all.
Boy, Ollie may not be too happy about this one...